skipjack Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Hi, we stayed at the Sheraton apts (called the Waterfront Apartments, Yarra street) right on the seafront in central Geelong. September is a great time as it's low season so you can negotiate a good weekly rate. It was a high spec apartment and we paid $800 a week. Torquay area has loads of summer apartments and in September (winter) they are all empty - so a good deal can be found quite easily. There are a few letting agents/real estate agents in Torquay who can manage a booking, or for more luxury check out the Mirvac apartments or the apartments tied to the Crown Plaza Hotel. We considered staying on a campsite in cabins and saving the pennies, but it will still be cold in Septemer and we decided after all of the stress and hassle of moving, we deserved some luxury for four weeks to balance out the stress - particularly as when you get here, there will still be loads of running around to do and battles with the never ending aussie bureaucracy. Factor in a bit of luxury and remember to haggle hard for a good deal. (PM me for any more info) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipjack Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Hi all, Just noticed the original post was an old post from last July! I'll leave my last post up should anyone else need some info. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pez2008 Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Hi Dawndid you make it to Geelong? If so, where are you based? we're (me, wife and 2 boys (1,3) in herne hill which is quite sleepy but pleasant. It would be good to hear from you Dom Hi. We live in Highton around the corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliott-Family Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Hi we are coming to melbourne in may for a reckie, we are staying at werribee caravan park, we would like to settle in ocean grove, near geelong but also want to have a good look around geelong. claire x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pez2008 Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Hi we are coming to melbourne in may for a reckie, we are staying at werribee caravan park, we would like to settle in ocean grove, near geelong but also want to have a good look around geelong. claire x Only been here 3.5 months but any thing you want to know just ask, we live in Highton which is about 30 min drive from Ocean Grove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawnmc Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 Hi Dawndid you make it to Geelong? If so, where are you based? we're (me, wife and 2 boys (1,3) in herne hill which is quite sleepy but pleasant. It would be good to hear from you Dom Hi Dom, no we didnt quite make it to Geelong except for weekend shopping, we have decided to settle in Ocean Grove cos closer to the beach :cool: but noticed it goes a bit mad in summer with all the holiday makers but when we got here it was quite sleepy too. Glad you are enjoying it at Herne Hill, dont think we've been there yet cos the husband been too busy working to get any sightseeing in! Dawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliott-Family Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 hi Dawn We are set on moving to Ocean Grove, how are you liking it, do you have children, we have an 11 year old son. We are coming to validate in may and are so excited to come and have a look around. i spend so much time looking around on google maps lol claire x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Ocean Grove is great. A tad busier in January, but nothing as compared with coastal towns in England. Consider also Point Lonsdale, Torquay, Jan Juc, and Anglesea. Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawnmc Posted January 17, 2010 Author Share Posted January 17, 2010 Hi Claire just realised that the husband has emailed you not long ago, he's on here too as Georgehot (colin) so you should have his email address if theres anything ya need to know. Main things we've noticed is the people in Ocean Grove have multiplied bigtime since we got here and it rains ALOT!!! Dawn x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliott-Family Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 lol, i didnt i had already talked to him. Rain??? not sounding the like of that too much, has it been bad? did you manage to find a rental easy enough, there doesnt seem to be too many of real estate at present, im guessing its because its high season claire x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest36762 Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Dawn, Ocean Grove is lovely, great beach: stretches for miles and miles. Not much sightseeing in Herne Hill though unless you like cricket ovals-there's quite a lot of them! How are you enjoying life in this part of the world? Do you have kids? Dom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawnmc Posted January 18, 2010 Author Share Posted January 18, 2010 lol, i didnt i had already talked to him. Rain??? not sounding the like of that too much, has it been bad? did you manage to find a rental easy enough, there doesnt seem to be too many of real estate at present, im guessing its because its high season claire x Sorry to say this Claire but we've not seen rain like it...but on the bright side an hour earlier you could be swimming in the sea because its tooo hot..Just freaky weather really! Hmm rentals, that was fun... found quite a few and even put in for a few and offered more money per week but it took us a good 4 wks to get this place we're in, once they accept you though it only takes a couple of days to go through. try looking at c.j.Keane & co, they were always our fave places. Dawn x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawnmc Posted January 18, 2010 Author Share Posted January 18, 2010 Dawn, Ocean Grove is lovely, great beach: stretches for miles and miles. Not much sightseeing in Herne Hill though unless you like cricket ovals-there's quite a lot of them! How are you enjoying life in this part of the world? Do you have kids? Dom Dom to be honest i'm not liking it much at all!! The cost of livin is higher than we imagined,the weather rains more than uk,My 10 year old son is on his 2nd summer holidays (bad timing on our part) and thought it would be fab but he's bored silly cos didnt have time to make any friends before the hols... where have all the kids in Ocean Grove hidden? been to all the parks and beach and noone from his school??had a chunk fall off my tooth so went to the dentist who is offering 2 choices..1, have it pulled out for $175 which she of course doesnt recommend or 2, have a root canal for a tiny fee of $1200???!!! bloody hell thats more than a skilled tradesmans week wages WTF? Gonna take time...yes i know this and i'm gonna wait and see how it changes cos have no choice really since it's too dear to get home! Sorry havin a bad day!! :mad: Dawn x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 All the children are likely to be doing Nippers programs ... are yours? As to the weather - where were you when it was high 30s and 40+ degrees C 10 to 14 days ago? Thank heavens for the rain to clear the air! How can you whinge at this time of year? Coastal Victoria is the place to be in January, without a doubt. Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipjack Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Hi Dawn, It is a bit grim here on the coast at the moment (Torquay) - and it's been a very wet winter with almost every other day seeing some rain. No sunshine to brighten the day and add a bit of sparkling blue to the sea. The ocean does look uninviting when it's a muddy grey colour! We've had the central heating on for the last two days (I did however catch myself saying it was cold and 'only 20 degrees' last week then realised that 20 degrees was equiv to 70 farenheit). It has been a very wet spring on the coast this year and the rain has rolled into the summer. Plus school holidays are a nightmare. Roll on Feb 1st and back to school !!! Then we can all get back to enjoying peaceful morning lattes and visits to the gym Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 You guys live in a different world to me. I head down to Torquay (Cosy Corner) every Saturday morning at 8am and swim with a bunch of friends - it is fantastic: on most mornings the sun shines and the sea is calm. And we've been doing that since the first Saturday in November. My daughter has been doing Nippers over the Xmas/New Year period ... no probs with the weather in that regard either. Nipper carnival at Torquay a couple of Fridays ago - sun block on. Wake up and smell the coffee - you are forgetting what the UK's weather was/is like! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest36762 Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Hi Dawn, It is a bit grim here on the coast at the moment (Torquay) - and it's been a very wet winter with almost every other day seeing some rain. No sunshine to brighten the day and add a bit of sparkling blue to the sea. The ocean does look uninviting when it's a muddy grey colour! We've had the central heating on for the last two days (I did however catch myself saying it was cold and 'only 20 degrees' last week then realised that 20 degrees was equiv to 70 farenheit). It has been a very wet spring on the coast this year and the rain has rolled into the summer. Blimey, is this Torquay in Victoria? Unless there's a micro climate going on there thats very different to Geelong, did you not notice it was 45 degrees the other day? I'd say any rain is a bonus, certainly better than bushfires. Dom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Methinks some are conspiring to keep the Poms away from coastal SW Victoria ... :spinny: Onwards - I have outdoor swim squad this evening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pez2008 Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Methinks some are conspiring to keep the Poms away from coastal SW Victoria ... :spinny: Onwards - I have outdoor swim squad this evening! Not us Mr Collett. Been living in Highton for 3 months and working in North Geelong for the same and love it. In my opinion you got to stop comparing prices as its all an exchange rate issue, its not THAT exspensive. Theres so much free stuff to do i.e sightseeing in the area or a short 1hr drive away. As for the weather i love it, a bit of sunshine then showers great, its only rain we wont dissolve lol. We came here for a better life we knew you couldn't live here free lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawnmc Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 Not us Mr Collett. Been living in Highton for 3 months and working in North Geelong for the same and love it. In my opinion you got to stop comparing prices as its all an exchange rate issue, its not THAT exspensive. Theres so much free stuff to do i.e sightseeing in the area or a short 1hr drive away. As for the weather i love it, a bit of sunshine then showers great, its only rain we wont dissolve lol. We came here for a better life we knew you couldn't live here free lol. LOL!!! S**T thats where i went wrong thought i could live here for free!! LOL??!!!!!!!!!!!!!???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pez2008 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 LOL!!! S**T thats where i went wrong thought i could live here for free!! LOL??!!!!!!!!!!!!!???? Well in that case stop whinging about it and try to start enjoying it.lolllllllllll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernie inn Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Hi all, this is my first post. I am currently in discussion with a company in Geelong who are willing to sponsor my visa so its looks like i'll be moving there in the near future (I can't wait) would it be possible to tell me the best areas to live/avoid and what essentials I might need. Initially i will be coming alone then my wife and son will be following on a month or 2 later. Where did you all stay/live when you first arrived as the furniture will take a couple of weeks to arrive? The main things i will require are internet for skype and probably foxtel, do many rental properties have these installed already? i suspect not as they are never mentioned in the rental ads. Or do many cafe's or public places have wireless availability? Sorry for all the questions any help is appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Hello Bernie. Maybe grab a wireless dongle for your internet access - I'm in Geelong and have an Optus USB stick for those occasions when I am away from the office. Areas to live? Lower socio-economic areas are to the north of Geelong - Corio and Norlane, for example. Quite a few ex-pat Brits live in Highton, Belmont, Waurn Ponds, etc. Maybe have a look at Real Estate, Property, Land and Homes for Sale, lease and rent - realestate.com.au See also General Discussion Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pez2008 Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Hi as Alan said get a dongle, although we found it wasn't much good in certain areas. We live in Highton and its very nice. Again as Alan said Waurn Ponds, Grovedale, Geelong, Belmont, Herne Hill, Hamlyn Heights theres loads that are all good. In MY opinion although cheaper avoid Corio North Geelong and Norlane. When we arrived we stayed in a Big 4 holiday park on the Barrabool Rd (check spelling) for 10 days until we got a rental sorted. Make sure you bring personel and private references and copies of bank statements and we also got a copy of our mortgage statement, showing our payment history with no gaps. You will need these things to help get a rental, so you can prove your agood financial bet, it helped us as at first we had no employer to put down. I have seen acouple of Motels advertising Foxtel, we got Foxtel + Broadband + Home phone in a package and it works out at $150 a month, before you make any calls. In my opinion Foxtel is over rated. As im living in Geelong feel free to email/ pm on here when ever. Pez. P.S Im told Mcdonalds have free Wi-Fi so if you sit in there all day that will solve your internet probs lol. As i said feel free to ask. Pez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernie inn Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Thanks for the advice guys I never even considered mobile internet although its so obvious really. i'm not sure whether the job will come with any sort of relocation package (hopefully it will) but they might be able to sort me a rental place before i get there. I've had a look at some of the rentals and highton and Belmont look good. The place where I will possibly be working is in north geelong if I was to live around Highton or Belmont would i need a car or could i do it on a bike? or get the train? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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