Kieu Bocock
KIEU BOCOCK MOVED INTO BELL PARK ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO, ALONG WITH HER HUSBAND BENJAMIN AND DOGS, MISO AND YOSHI. THE DAILY COMMUTE TO MELBOURNE IS A SMALL PRICE FOR THE JOY OF LIVING THERE.
ONE of the first times I slept at home it was so beautifully quiet away from the hustle and bustle. There’s less noise, the birds are singing, the air is fresher.
The commute on the train is fantastic. We get on the 7.21am from North Geelong. It’s pretty full, every seat is taken. We’re not the only ones commuting on the train. No one is going to get in a car, there’s nothing worse than grid lock. We get a monthly or a 10-weekly ticket and save about 60 per cent on our daily ticket price. The commute becomes part and parcel of what you do.
I’m from Perth originally and Benjamin is from New Zealand. We rented for three years in Brunswick and said let’s get married and do all that stuff, so we looked for a home (to buy). The prices in Melbourne are just ridiculous. Here you can get double the space for much less. The dogs need space; we both grew up near the ocean. You are going to be hard pressed to find any real estate (in the Melbourne area) for less than a million dollars.
This is a lovely little house. We nabbed it before it went to auction. It has a few little projects for us to do, some little bits of DIY.
The kind of lifestyle Geelong offers us is so well worth it. It’s so established here. It can cater for everybody and all ages, it’s just the sort of place we want to start our married life in. When you get home it’s like the weekend, a good work-lifestyle balance. We’ve met so many people on the train, young couples who had decided to make the move. It’s going to be amazing here.
I’m an armour technologist; I work in research and development with Australian Defence Apparel. Benjamin is the general manager of Section 8 and Ferdydurke; they’re two city bars.
The cafes I like are Winters, and Born and Bred for its chocolate eclairs, and Café Go. Every weekend we’re on the hunt for new breakfast joints. We’d like to eventually open a place of our own. We love everything about Geelong but the one thing we’ve been struggling with is finding somewhere for breakfast on Sunday. There is definitely the market.
My favourite building is Geelong Grammar’s old turret, that’s quite cool. I love Little Creature’s Brewery, that’s amazing.
When we have out-of-towners Benjamin might cook for them. Or we might take them to Tulip; it’s casual but it’s good fine dining as well, a really good experience. We’ll take them to Little Creatures as well. A lot of work people think we’re crazy because of the commute and the time it takes. When our friends come and stay and get to enjoy the entirety of it they love it. We have heaps of people come for the day.
The best place for a walk is behind the golf course and the McKellar Centre, there used to be a railway line there. We also might go down to Portarlington to a secret spot there near a farm, you go down a muddy track and can let the dogs run loose.
If we’re having a picnic we’d go to the You Yangs or down the waterfront.
The best fish and chips are at The Hungry Seagull in North Geelong. You can go across the road and get the best Guinness at the Telegraph Hotel.
I don’t shop much in Geelong but I do like Second Mode in Pakington St.
The best butcher is Ber’s next to Woolies at Pakington Strand. Or Tasman Meats in Belmont.
What does Geelong need? I reckon that’s too hard, ask me next year. I’m too new to know.