of2oz

Hi
We are finally on our way and fly to Melbourne on Monday , we have booked a hotel for a week a will look for a longer term let when we get there.

When we first looked at areas to live in Geelong seemed the obvious choice as we dont want to live in the city with two children, would prefer the coast or possibly lakes and not far from an airport (Avalon is good for internal flights). However after much more research the mornington penninsula seems to be a beautiful area and is looking more attractive to us.

Are there any of you out there living in Geelong who would be able to advise on good/bad areas and for those in Mornington - do you have a really bad commute or is it too far from the Airport/CPD?

Obviously when we get there we will get a better feel for the areas, but any advice welcome.

Thanks

Caroline G

Yes, I'ld be interested in anyones real life experiences of living in or around the Mount Eliza area.

ozzieeagle

Your both going for asthetics over Job opportunity, in my opinion when one first arrives in a new country one should head for where the jobs are, and rent centrally with a view that that will be a temporary situation, until you find where the Job Market will take you.

Personally I would start off renting in the inner north or western suburbs, as these are the job centres of Melbourne, and if one managed to find jobs out towards those locales that you mention, then you are better placed to move there.

Lower wages out in both those directions, be warned.

Mornington is at least 40ks from the city, which means a possible 40 minute travelling time, each way to where you are likely to find a job, or you could even end up finding a job on the other side of town 1.5 hours away, Same with Geelong about 40 mins away, so if one lives close to geelong and a job arises east of the city, your in big trouble commuting wise.

This advice is particuly pertinent to white collar workers, where good jobs are very difficult to find. God knows where Job Opps could take them.

of2oz

Hi

Thanks for the reply. I have a job and have to travel to Sydney/Brisbane on a weekly basis. the company is based in the CPD in Melbourne and I will also have to go there weekly, so either side of the city would be nice, smi rural or suburb preferred

Just wondered if anyone had any comments on good or bad parts of Geelong or whether we should stick to the east side which is more established.

Thanks


Thanks

lauralollipop

hi

before we arrived here we did atlot of research and decided we wanted to live in either Geelong, Mornington or Frankston as they seemed perfect. When we arrived it all changed, they were beautiful places and we have visted them several times and still would love to live there, but they are too far away from work etc.... so we now live in the South Eastern Suburbs and its ideal. I dont think you can decide where you are going to live till you arrive here and know what you will be doing for work etc....

Good luck

laura
x

lauralollipop

PS we visted both Geelong and Mornington and they are both absolutely gorgeous, but in my opinion Mornington is nicest, I think its so nice I might even get married there!

laura
x

Merlot

Excellent advice there.

M

fraser

You don't want to do that it'll be tainted for you forever

hevs

Sorry but i have to disagree (but please bear in mind i have lots of free grand prix alcohol in me so i may be blunt!!)

The inner North and west suburbs are pants and quite frankly i'd rather live in Bradford. You will not necesarily need to live anywhere NEAR the CBD depending on the type of job that you do. (ie not industrial)

If you have kids, moving around is not the best option and moving for work is not necessarily what you would want, but moving to good schools and good community atmosphere is.

If you are not pleased athectically in where you live you will not settle. The inner suburbs are cramped, graffitied and look very hovelish. If you don't mind this then go for it (ie: if you live in an inner city dump), but if you need somewhere that soothes the soul move further out, good luck

ozzieeagle

Yes Hev's I did expect flack over this recommendation, The graffiti you mention is almost exclusively just along the railway line corridors, and possibly not placed there by locals, for maximum viewing audience i guess.

As far as i know the top performing state school in Victoria, is actually in the Inner North, and is University High school, Parkville which has constantly for years now out performed about 50pct of private schools, on VCE results. coming in as the 31st school in the whole of Victoria, out of 450. (we are hoping to get out 11 year old in there next year) Closely followed by Princess Hill secondary Carlton, North Fitzroy, Seondary, and Northcote High School. The schools probably perform so well, because of the refusal of the Left wing achademic types that make up a large proportion of the population, of the inner North. To send their kids to private schools.

I must add that Inner city lovers, of any description, are the ones that will enjoy my recommondations, to the North of Melbourne in particular.

G'Day

I live in the SE subburbs towards the Dandenongs which I've found very suitable for children. Very open and green out here with forestes all around within a quick hop skip & a jump. I personally wasn't enamoured by what I saw on the east of the city - very much an industrial area. No Australian I know would willingly go live in Geelong so I am not so sure about it

As for the Mornington pen, please remember that it is a hell of a slog to any airport from there. My friend lives there & drives 50 minutes to Moorabbin (SE Subs) where she works. On Fridays it slows down to a 2 hour drive home for her in the afternoon due to heavy traffic on the way to recreational sites. Beautiful yes, but worth the agro, I don't know?

G'Day

The Country club is gorgeous. My friend got married there & it was dreamy. Rose gardens with pools & fountains & vineyards by the sea...mmmm

ozzieeagle

It's definitely the prettier side of town, the South East. One tends to spend a lot longer sitting in cars though. My comments are basically aimed at brand new migrants. Wishing to establish temselves here, before they decide where they actually want to live, One can save a damn fortune in Stamp duty, by renting first. Considering Its a very lucky person in deed that gets the house and job in the right location all at the same time.


BTW, Thanks very much for your supportive comments on other threads G'day, I appreciate them.

G'Day

No worries ozzieeagle

You are very right about renting. The first thing the expats we met here told us was not to buy, but to rent and see where we wanted to go first. It was sound advise and came from their own hard learned lessons. It's a bit rediculous to think you're going to come from half a planet away and then just settle in the first place you land this side. Nevermind that you are a prime idiot as far as the real estate here goes and a good target for being ripped off. Do you know which areas have termite problems, woodrot problems? Do you know what kind of hot water systems are popular here, which ones give frequent problems & which ones don't but aren't worth the trouble? Do you have any idea of what constitutes a fair price for the area you're in? Can you live with the traffic? Does your area turn into a marsh when it rains?

All these questions and many more can only be answered by actually living somewhere for a while.

hevs

Obviously

Ozzie to say that the inner city burbs of the West are good to live in, sorry but were you taking the pish?? No Aussies i know would choose to live there.

As for needing to live there to secure work, i don't get that either. MY hubby is a software consultant and he only travels 35 minsfrom S/E a day to Burwood. How many people realistically need to be in the CBD?

Another point to mention is that most migrants with kids want to go to a place that they feel they'll be happy in the first instance because of schooling for the kids. Theres no point in getting schools sorted out etc then having to move them in 6 months to a nicer burb is there?

Everyone has different needs depending on there own set of circumstances, however i would feel cruel sending them off to Footscray, Sunshine, Altona, Carlton etc (or am i in the wrong burbs here?) :scared: