The best place To Live - City of Greater Geelong
The best place To Live - City of Greater Geelong
The best place To Live - City of Greater Geelong
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the february <strong>best</strong> 2009 <strong>place</strong> to www.geelongaustralia.com.au the <strong>best</strong> <strong>place</strong> to live www.geelongaustralia.com.au<br />
5<br />
A Fairfax Media Custom Publication<br />
Melbourne? I tried living there …<br />
People <strong>of</strong>ten ask Brad Ivens why he doesn’t move<br />
to Melbourne. But the 33-year old senior tax<br />
manager at Ernst & Young wonders how people<br />
live in Melbourne. “I just couldn’t see myself living up<br />
there again,” he says.<br />
Having grown up in <strong>Geelong</strong> and studied at Deakin<br />
University, Mr Ivens did try living in Melbourne when<br />
he first started work about 10 years ago. “I rented a<br />
flat in Carlton for a couple <strong>of</strong> years but I was going<br />
back to <strong>Geelong</strong> every weekend and quite <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
during the week as well. It seemed pointless to live<br />
in Melbourne.” So he and his wife bought a house in<br />
<strong>Geelong</strong> and haven’t looked back.<br />
Mr Ivens commutes to Melbourne by train which,<br />
he admits, can be frustrating. But working in a fairly<br />
specialised field, he puts up with the travel for the<br />
sake <strong>of</strong> being able to enjoy the lifestyle – opportunities<br />
for golfing and surfing in particular. <strong>The</strong> Bellarine<br />
Peninsula boasts a number <strong>of</strong> five-star golf courses<br />
including Barwon Heads, Thirteenth Beach and <strong>The</strong><br />
Sands at <strong>To</strong>rquay.<br />
Mr Ivens is a member at Clifton Springs, where he<br />
plays every Saturday. “During the year we might also<br />
play at courses like <strong>To</strong>rquay, Anglesea or Queenscliff –<br />
there are plenty <strong>of</strong> good courses close by.”<br />
Another passion is surfing, and living in <strong>Geelong</strong><br />
means that Mr Ivens is only 20 minutes away from<br />
several <strong>of</strong> the <strong>best</strong> surf beaches in Australia.<br />
From the southern coast <strong>of</strong> the Bellarine Peninsula<br />
some <strong>of</strong> the <strong>best</strong> surfing spots are Point Lonsdale,<br />
Ocean Grove and Thirteenth Beach near Barwon Heads<br />
– one <strong>of</strong> the closest surf beaches to <strong>Geelong</strong> and a<br />
year-round favourite with surfing diehards. <strong>The</strong> most<br />
famous is Bells Beach, where the Rip Curl Pro is held<br />
every Easter.<br />
“I’ve been surfing since I was six. I mainly go to<br />
Winki Pop, next to Bells Beach, but also<br />
anywhere round <strong>To</strong>rquay, Barwon Heads or<br />
even Lorne, depending on the conditions.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y are all easy to get to from <strong>Geelong</strong>.”<br />
With a one-year-old daughter,<br />
Mr Ivens also thinks that<br />
<strong>Geelong</strong> is a good <strong>place</strong> to raise<br />
a family. “It has the benefits <strong>of</strong><br />
being small enough that a lot <strong>of</strong><br />
people know each other but big enough<br />
that it has everything.”<br />
learn:<br />
More than 220 nationally accredited courses and 240 short courses are<br />
on <strong>of</strong>fer at the Gordon Institute.