Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

Hi

We've narrowed our potential destinations down to

Adelaide
Geelong
Mornington

I'd really appreciate anyones thoughts on each and if they would suit us.

We are a family of 4. Two children aged 8 and 10. I am an accountant who currently works from home but I don't mind going back to work in an office once the kids are settled, although I would still prefer to work from home if possible. OH is a wall and floor tiler.

We want somewhere pretty, fairly quiet, within walking distance of a beach but not too far from a big city - oh and good schools too. We like being outdoors, camping and sports. We also obviously need to go where there will be plenty of work for us both and not somewhere where we'll have a long trek to work. We started off being dead set on Adelaide (Hallett Cove -as we have friends there) but Melbourne has started to appeal more - although we wouldn't want to live in the centre - so now we are leaning towards Geelong or Mornington I think. Just a little worried that both of those may not have enough work or are too far out in the sticks.

Any comments, opinions, thoughts will be much appreciated

Thanks


Nicky :thumbsup:

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

Mornington to Melbourne would be a hell of a commute.

There's a good train service between Geelong and Melbourne - you'd be unlikely to get a seat though. Takes about an hour.

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

We were in Aus in April and drove from Melbourne as far as Frankston on the way to Mornington and it was an hours very boring drive along the freeway and that wasn't in peak time so I agree it would be a hell of a drive from Mornington.

We also drove out the other way past geelong and stayed in Torquay (we went a bit further along the great ocean road for about an hour one day too). The drive to Geelong is fairly straight forward along the freeway but it gets very busy and can take a good hour. Plenty of people we spoke to commute from there though and from further along. And the further west you go the more beautiful it gets.

We also spent a week in Glenelg in Adelaide and toured all around and it is lovely. The only thing we found it that we didn't find any amazing surf beaches like you would get near sydney say (we may have missed them!) and although the town centre had a really lovely feel to it and fantastic parklands surrounding, it was just a bit too small scale for us.

It depends what you are looking for. Before we went for a reccie we had in our heads that we would settle in Adelaide or melbourne but after travelling around for a month we have decided on Manly in Sydney which has really surprised us.

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

The weather is warmer in Adelaide then Geelong and Melbourne. Adelaide has hotter summers and the winters are'nt as cold or wet. Adelaide and Geelong are both small cities while Melbourne is a very large city, but alot of people consder Geelong an outer suburb of Melbourne these days. l did'nt like Geelong but l thought there were some really nice coastal towns nearby like Angleasea and Queenscliffe. lt would be easier traveling to work each day living in Adelaide then Geelong or mornington. Have you considered the Dandenong mountains just outside Melbourne is suposed to be nice, semi-rural, would be good as you like the outdoors camping etc., but its not near the beach. In Melbourne its too cold to go to the beach half the year anyway.

http://www.travelvictoria.com.au/reg...ey/dandenongs/

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

Dandenong :)

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

I would say Mornington it is a beautiful spot. Geelong is too industrialised. The beaches near Mornington are lovely. To the CBD you would be looking at 1.5hr commute but there are many suburbs to the south of the city that you could find work. The market at mornington is great, shops are good, pubs and clubs are good, the race course for a day out and all the winerys in the area. There is so much to explore on the peninsula.

I could drive to the CBD out of peak traffic in 45mins but then it could take 1.5hrs in peak. We lived in Somerville nr Mornington.

I dont know anything about living in Adelaide.

Jo

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

noted:thumbup:

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

If you're into camping and the outdoors you've got to go to Victoria, there are so many awesome places in easy distances. Commute to melbourne is a long way from Mornington but if you lived Mt Eliza or tyabb much easier. There are planty more places to work than the city though so travel into Melbourne may not be necessary. Mornignton secondary College is good too.

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

Thanks for your responses. We're not really looking to work in the city just visit there occassionally (Me and my daughter love to shop!!!). We'd like to work near to where we live and really wanted to know if work was easy to find in Geelong or near Mornington. Adelaide is different as it's smaller.

Is it really that cold nr Melbourne - surely it's not UK cold!

Basically I want it all - rural living (but able to get into city at weekends in around 1 hr for shopping, concerts, theatre, galleries, museums, nightlife etc....), walk to beach, job 5 minutes away, great schools, affordable housing, sunshine all the time - oh and a jackpot lottery win while I'm at it!!! Don't want much really do I!!!!

:wub:

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

Mornignton.

Yes Melbourne is cold, very cold, but not Uk cold. Great, cheap, fun skiing in winter :)

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

It is rural nr Mornington, you get the beach, you may get work in Mornington as an accountant or more likely Frankston. Schools are good, housing affordable. Sunshine all the time I remember the sunshine but not a 365 days a year. Shopping you dont need to go to the city you can go to Frankston, there is a huge shopping mall nr Mordialloc and also a designer outlet about 30 mins drive away.

Oh yes it gets cold not as cold as the UK but when the house are not insulated, no double glazing and a lot of our mates had no heating then it felt very cold. Its the wind chill factor as you are so close to the coast and you get all the weather fronts coming over.

We had ducted heating put in but with wooden floors and such big rooms we still had rugs on the sofa to throw over us in winter.

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

If it was me l would buy a house in the Dandenong mountains on a large block of land or small acerage and have a swimming pool instead of living near the beach. The beaches in Melbourne are'nt all that good and are crowded in the few months of the year its warm enough to go swimming. But the best beaches and coastline are 1 hours drive and more outside Melbourne which are some of the best in Australia. Hallet Cove and the beaches in Adelaide are pity average . If its great beaches and warm weather all year round you are after then you should consider Queensland maybe the Gold coast area, not Adelaide or Melbourne. But just outside Melbounre and Victoria is one of the best places in Australia for camping and outdoor activities which you said you were interested in.
The best way to decide is to visit both Adelaide and Melbourne yourselves,Although useful, you can't rely on other peoples opinions alone.

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

Never in my wildest dreams would I associate "cheap" and "skiing'" with Victoria !!! It is almost cheaper to go for a weeks package ski holiday to NZ (with much better snow) than for a long weekend to the Vic Alps ;-)

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

Actually the beaches in Melbourne are among the best in Australia. We live 15 mins walk from a stunning sandy beach, 30 mins commute from the CBD.

And as for crowded, that is just rubbish.

But then I'm guessing, tassietiger, you don't live in Melbourne?

Buzzy

Re: Adelaide, Geelong or Mornington? - Can't decide!!!
 

No it's not very cold - I get fed up of saying this. Winter so far has been around 15oC day time temp. Though typically it ranges from 12oC-15oC. Nights can be cold - but in 2 and half winters have only seen 2 light frosts.

Skiing is cheap if you want to go for the day - not so cheap if you want to stay longer!