Hastings Vic, Apollo Bay Vic

[Inanna]

No - I can't find the name of the school name - it was an independent school - but a friend I was just speaking to thinks that it is a boys only school - no good for me I am afraid...

I am looking at property around Beech Forest so not quite in Apollo Bay... I like a rural aspect and open spaces....

Thanks everyone for your in put! Keep it coming!!!!!

[melbel]

Maybe you are thinking of flinders christian college but it is co-ed (used to boys only though).....didnt think it was in hastings itself though...there are no boys only schools down this way, although there are some great independent schools. Penbank is one that is very non- mainstream but that is in Mornington. you also have Minimbah (junior school) and Woodleigh (Senior School) which are independent as well. FCC is great too and they have a campus just near us in Carrum Downs ( we are next door in langwarrin). To be perfectly honest I probably wouldn't recommend Hastings itself to live in....it is locally known as boganville where you have to stop and put your moccies on to cross the border!! LOL
Down here is a beautiful area though there are a heap of really nice suburbs and we are far enough away from the CBD to be countrified and have rural aspects as you say but still quite close to good shopping centres and other facilities. And yes we have quite a few great schools down this way, all but one are co-ed now and that is Toorak Girls College in Mt. Eliza. As a teacher who has taught in quite a few of the state and independent schools I can recommend a few if you get serious...even some of the state schools around here are quite good also. In Langwarrin we also have an awesome montessori pre-school owned by my best friends sister. In fact about the only type of education we don't have in easy access is steiner but we are pretty up there with the rest!!
The medical facilities here are good also and with all the new freeways and bypasses you are really only about an hours travel from the CBD in non-peak if you need a serious shopping fix! It does rain a bit more than what you are used to though!! Like today for example...it is the middle of summer and we had to turn the heater on this evening for a bit!

Hope that helps...anymore questions ask away.

ETA: unless you are thinkin of Toogoolawa school in hastings which is for boys and is attached to the toogoolawa childrens home. they have a campus at Hastings that takes about a dozen boys in year 7 and 8 only. Thats the only boys only school i can think of.
Other independent schools include westernport Christian school and Bayside Christian College if any of those names ring a bell.

[Junglemum]

it is locally known as boganville

ROFL i was trying to be diplomatic!

Great school Rainy!

[MantaRay]

Oh no, not another mod moving south My sister lives on the pennisula and really loves it. Her DH is a surfer but I'm not sure where he surfs. The one thing I would recommend is taking a trip down there to scope it all out. That way you can see for yourself and get a feel for a place. Like most things I think a first impression tells you a lot. Best of luck hun.

[Lulu]

If you move to Apollo Bay you'll never get rid of me!

why not look at Torquay?

[~Raven~]

DH grew up in Frankston and knows a lot of places down on the Peninsula. I can ask him his opinion if you like.

ETA SIL went to Flinders college. It's in Tyabb.

DH reccons Hastings was known as bogan city 20 years ago and that the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree so would be home to a new generation of them. He goes down there a bit for work

*disclaimer - my DH is a bogan too ROFL*

[Lulu]

Hastings is also very flat...and not very beautiful. There are places surrounding it that might be nice

[Ginger]

Great school Rainy! [/QUOTE]

i know! we're thinking of moving down that way actually and i wood seriousley consider sending the kids there.

flowerchild- i'm heading to lakes entrance for a little holiday this weekend actually, so i'll let you know what it's like they do get pretty extreme weather there though i think.
apollo bay is absolutely gorgeous

[Astrid]

Ok, just logging in as a little birdie told me my name was metioned

We are down Warrnambool way. There is surfing along a the coast down here, both east and west. I am not a surfer though, so can't really comment. I am still getting to know the area. Whilst it is a friendly place to live, it is leaning more to country/bogan (I mean there are both country folk and some bogans, not calling country bogan iykwim), than to hippy. I would like it to be a bit more hippy, there are enough people though that you can just hang out with those with a similar mindset if you want. Smaller towns would be a bit better, like Port Fairy as previously mentioned. I have often wondered what Timboon would be like, we wanted to look at houses there, but they always fell through.

All you can really do is take a drive along the Great Ocean Rd and see what place takes your fancy if you want to move along the coast.

[Inanna]

Rainforest what's the critique on Lakes Entrance?

What about Port Fairy Astrid? Would it be a nice family town...? Would it be 3 hours to Melb from there?

[~Trish~]

I've been to Lakes Entrance a few times (I was there for a few hours a couple of weeks ago) and it's really lovely . When you drive in it is just BEAUTIFUL. There is surf out there, but I've never personally surfed there (always stuck to the Island or Torquay or Inverloch) so I'm not sure what it's like. You also have the benefit of the lake nearby. I think the weather can be a bit extreme from what I've heard too, it can certainly get cold! It can become very busy during the holidays though, we could barely walk through the main street it was that packed.

Have you thought about Inverloch? It's just past Phillip Island, it's beautiful and has some great surf spots. Lots of farms and things too.

[Astrid]

Rainforest what's the critique on Lakes Entrance?

What about Port Fairy Astrid? Would it be a nice family town...? Would it be 3 hours to Melb from there?

Think it maybe a nice family town, the whole area down here seems pretty family friendly. It is about 3hrs from W'bool to Melb, so add about another 20 min on that. It really depends on traffic and stops with kids. The first part of the Geelong bypass is in, so that takes about 15min off I think. Just wish they would put in dual lanes the whole way, it would make a huge difference. Just thought you might like to know that Port Fairy has naturally occuring fluoride in its water If you do head on down this way for a look feel free to PM me if you want to catch up.