the mob

when we arrived in Australia we stayed in Melbourne for 2 weeks in a serviced apartment. So sorry can't say where is cheap in Geelong but...they do have a big4 campsite or there is the Riverglen campsite. Have a good network of friends who live in Wandana Heights, Highton and Grovedale and all super neighbourhoods and have great schools.
As for renting we found our home within a week on getting here and then had the 2 week in Melbourne as a holiday and used that time to kit the house out with basics and new furniture with the luxury of returning to a fully serviced apartment.
have a look on realestate.com.au etc and see what is up for rent and again if its cheap then think twice about it .It's the same in the UK if you are looking for houses if the price is very low you do wonder what kind of area it is.
And as an afterthought ..we went to the Corio shopping centre and we didn't meet any druggies or sorts and it is a modern mall.Re teenagers hanging around in Geelong there are soooo many sporting facilities etc about we have never had a problem with them but as everyone knows teenagers do like to hang about no matter what country you are in.
Good luck with your move and give us a buzz if we can help in anyway.
the mob

ozzieeagle

I've got to admit it has been a while, since I regularly visited friends that lived down that way. However that is the perception that a lot of people in Melbourne have about the larger towns around Victoria. I'd say the same of any Rural area of Aussie.

Why would it be different now to 7 years ago ? and for the previous 20 or more years before that. (my 23 year old tells me that Colac is a really bad place for drug culture.... She also mentioned Shepparton and Bendigo... but added that it only appears worse because in those type of rural enviornments the problem is more transparent.... So you may have a point )

The less that there is to occupy teenagers/young adults, the more negative distractions become attractive.

I must pose this specific question to some friends of mine in Maryborough and Boort.

alwyck

Thanks a lot for all the info on geelong guys!