Selling Geelong is an easy task
MELBOURNE PEOPLE LOOK AT THE COAST AS I USED TO BEFORE I MOVED TO GEELONG NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO. THEY SEE IT AS SOMEWHERE TO SPEND SUMMER OR SCHOOL HOLIDAYS. GEELONG PEOPLE ENJOY THE COAST AS AN EXTENSION OF THEIR BACKYARD.”
RECENTLY I caught up with friends in Melbourne for dinner.
They were girls I grew up with. For one of them, COVID-19 has had a significant impact and, like thousands of other people, her family is contemplating a move to regional Victoria.
As dinner started, she told me Geelong was a contender. Her family has three children, all in primary or early secondary school.
She wanted to know why they should choose Geelong. It was an easy sell.
My favourite thing about Geelong is its sense of community. It is a big city but a very small town. People still say hello to their neighbours in Geelong, they know their names and bring in their mail when they go away on holidays.
Geelong cares about Geelong. When someone is in trouble or needs a hand, people in this town say yes and step forward to help.
We buy the raffle tickets, attend the fundraising dinner and shop locally to support those in need, as well as our wonderful homegrown businesses.
When your kid’s primary school has its annual fair, not only do the families from the primary school attend to support the school, the whole suburb and surrounding suburbs turn out. They buy the cakes and ride passes and catch up with friends, family and neighbours while watching the school talent show year after year.
At the heart of Geelong’s sense of community — and something our family has the privilege of participating in each week — is community sport.
A highlight for me is getting to know the parents, uncles, aunts and grandparents of our children’s teammates who turn out to watch and cheer on the kids each week.
I love that community sporting clubs provide role models and people whom our kids can ask for advice and who contribute as a positive part of the village that is helping to raise our children.
I love that my children want to stick around after their game to watch their coaches play in the A-grade game and that all their mates stick around as well.
I love that we end up staying to watch the A-grade game, not only because the quality of the game is excellent, but we get to hang out with friends for the afternoon and rate the comparative home team canteen on the quality of its chips and gravy in foil containers and debate the big issues in life — such as whether the chips should be eaten with a fork or fingers!
A distinguishing and important feature of Geelong is how wonderful our health infrastructure is.
Geelong has an excellent public hospital and two private hospitals that service our community.
In health, we are also blessed with highly skilled and qualified medical specialists, general practitioners, physiotherapists, psychologists, nurses and personal care attendants who live and work in Geelong and are committed to providing the highest quality medical care to Geelong people.
In the stressful decision about what school to send your children to, we are spoilt for choice.
We have excellent public and private schools to choose from in our region. For my friend, the luxury of having multiple schools to choose from for her three very different children is a great comfort.
We even have Melbourne roasted when it comes to the quality of our coffee.
Geelong’s proximity to the Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast is one of my favourite things about Geelong.
What is not often understood by people in Melbourne is the lifestyle impact of the proximity of the coast on Geelong.
Melbourne people look at the coast as I used to before I moved to Geelong nearly 20 years ago. They see it as somewhere to spend summer or school holidays. Geelong people enjoy the coast as an extension of their backyard.
For me, it is a very rare weekend where I am not walking the dogs between Barwon Heads and
Ocean Grove. Our kids have done nippers at 13th Beach, learnt to surf at Ocean Grove and have regular play dates and sleepovers with friends who live on the coast.
Not only is it spectacular, but it is close and impacts the way we live our lives for the better.
In what is great news, Geelong is now the preferred candidate for their family’s move to regional Victoria. In anticipation of their move at the end of this year, I have recommended some Geelong acclimatisation training, namely to change footy teams and barrack for the Cats, to purchase black puffer jackets for next year’s community winter sport season and to read the Geelong Addy every day to truly get into the Geelong mindset.