beanieroo

hi.
In a few months my husband, two small children and I will be moving to Melbourne. My husband is originally from Ringwood but wants to settle in Geelong. At the moment we live in Whitstable, Kent. Its on the beach and really offers a sense of community and outdoor living. Can anyone offer any advice on areas to look at? I have no idea what I can afford because I can't seem to arrange a morgage over here. So thats the catch! Im looking for a respectable & safe area. Good school/kindergarten. Plenty of outdoor areas to explore & activities the kids can enjoy and a somewhere that comes in the middle price range. If anyone can help that would be fantastic....Many thanks.

Mike 3G

Hello,

Welcome aboard!

I reckon the Bellarine is a great place to look and not that expensive with a few decent coastal options. Try Ocean Grove, Portralington or perhaps down our way at Torquay. We currently rent a 3x2 for $420 a week which is failry average for Torquay. They other 2 places I mentioned are similar in price for rentals and both have plenty positives in terms of lifestyle. Geelong also has a couple of good spots namely Highton, Newton, Eastern Beach and Belmont. I reckon Grovedale and Warun Ponds are also pretty decent aswell and a bit cheaper to boot. Check the above areas out on realstate.com.au or domain.com.au.

itigo

Hi, we live in Geelong itself and love it. I would recommend East Geelong (the top part) and South Geelong for being near the centre. Newtown (can get a bit pricey - it's near a lot of the private schools) and Highton are also good places to live. West Geelong and Belmont are ok. I wouldn't personally live in Grovedale but Waurn Ponds is ok if you like new developments.

We are very happy with the school our daughter goes to. She also went to a great kinder in a different suburb - youngest will also be going there.

The Bellerine is great if you don't mind a longer commute (if you have to get to Melbourne). We spend most of our weekends down on the Surf Coast....
Feel free to PM if you want more specific info...........

Mike 3G

Yeah the commute to Melbourne is a ball breaker!

Quite a few employers in Geelong though.

Sass73

I drive from Melbourne to Geelong everyday and see all the traffic going the other, nose to tail, for the last 15km into the city. from what I've heard, the trains aren't much better for comfort. Waurn Ponds is nice and there are quite a few shops there. If you haven't already, check out Britvics which is for expats in Victoria. There were quite a few Geelong girls on there a while ago.

beanieroo

Thanks for the info I'm doing the research now but I've got to say its bloody hard! What school does your daughter go to and can you tell me the name of the kinder please. I'm looking up the web sites but nothing beats a personal recommendation!!

mpgrewal

Hope they will stretch the train track till Geelong as Geelong has top priority of infrastructure boom as Melbourne expands.

itigo

The trains can be shocking as it's a one up one down line. However, I have several friends that do it and they don't have many complaints when chatting to them. The price is the thing that shocks me in a good way......I can pay $18 return Geelong -Melbourne one way in peak time 1st class. Equivalent journey from my old town to London (identical distance and journey time) was $175 when I looked it up!!!!

itigo

Write one more post then I can write you a private message with the info!

29palms

The Bellarine and surf coast are fantastic places in the warmer months. The Geelong waterfront is preety impressive now as well.
However i wouldnt like to commute into Melbourne from Geelong

beanieroo

Thanks everyone. I'm sorting out the move now. My husband is a builder and we've been told that there is plenty of work in the area so hopefully he won't have to commute. If he does well......thats the price he pays!! By the way I'm getting more info from you guys than I am from my in-laws so any other tips you want to throw my way.....I'll happily take them!!