Hastings Vic, Apollo Bay Vic

I have been toying for a number of years now about moving south... I know I know most people move north! There are a few reasons. Big one being we would be mortgage free and able to choose when and how we work, and we could travel a LOT more with our kids - something I definitely want to do. Our tree change to the hinterland has been EXCELLENT for me - but for DH it has meant lots of travelling.

So, I have seen a great school at Hastings in Victoria that marries with my values - does anyone know what Hastings is like?

I have an alternate outlook - I am not conservative - so I couldn't live in a really conservative place without biting my tongue in half! :lol:

Apollo Bay fits the bill there - and there is a couple of properties that make me think - mmmm maybe we could do this???

However, the school at Hastings looks ace...

So, does anyone have any first hand experiences with the Peninsula? The school?
Apollo Bay?

DH loves to surf - so being closer to the beach is a must if we are to make a move...

We have family north of Melbourne on the boarder - so these places are not too close but so much closer to make maintaining family connections easier... I lived in Melbourne years ago (Elwood) and I am a Melbourne lover - but I just can't do city living any more....

Thanks in advance for your help my lovelies - just tossing it around at the moment.... ;)

Astrid - are you somewhere around these areas? Just wondered from another post? :)

astrid i think is in warnambool a bit further west along the coast! never lived in either but would be ace having you back in the best state of all!!! i think hastings is ok!

Ok, brain not functioning too well, overtired preggo brain..... but i'll post anyway! lol

I grew up in the next town from Hastings, what school are you referring to? I went to a school on the peninsula. A fantastic school too, one definately worth moving for, but it wasn't in hastings.

Hastings wouldn't be my first choice of towns to live in, having said that it has come along way in 15 years. It used to be a bit of a dive and still has a bit of a stigma attached to it i guess. But as the rest of the peninsula picks up so too does this area. There are many neighbouring suburbs which are lovely too though.

Surf wise, it is still a fair drive to Point Leo, gunnamatta or round to philip island for waves. Where as at Apollo bay you are right on the ocean.

Maz went to school in Hastings. I'm sure she'll pop in too.

Apollo Bay is very commercialised now though - not as bad as Lorne but not the same as it used to be.
If you DH is any better a surfer than a beginner he;d be travelling to get to a decent surf beach, but Joannas not THAT far I guess.

No idea on Hastings, Im a westie ;)

I'm not much for the Peninsula - it's really the topography more than anything. I don't like flat places with too many straight lines and the thing that always gets me about driving between the towns on the Peninsula is that the main road is very straight and very tree-y so you kind of can't see the houses and what's going on. Don't like. But I'm fully prepared to hear I'm being a weirdo about this!

So Apollo Bay I like more because obviously it's on the Great Ocean Road which isn't flat plus it's near the Otways and basically, there's more views. Having said that though, it does seem very touristy and therefore very slow off-season. So I'm guessing it would be too busy for me in summer and too quiet in winter.

Warrnambool I like - seems to be lots going on there and DP and I went to Port Fairy recently which we both loved too. Bloody expensive though property-wise.

Dream destination for both of us would be Hobart but I have to make do with getting my Hobart fix with holidays.

DP & i moved from Melb to Ballarat four years ago not knowing a single person here in Ballarat.

We were looking at moving to Qld but thought at least Ballarat is only just over an hour drive for most family & friends ... and DP's parents about a 2hr drive to come & visit us.

Well, it turns out know one visits us as they consider Ballarat to be too far to drive so DP & i have dragged our 2.5year DD visiting everyone that won't visit us since she was 5wks old for about 2 to 3 weekends out of each mth :wall:

We have become so tired of driving that at times we have wondered if we just should have moved to QLD like we would have in the 1st place but didn't because we considered others ... well, how silly were we :doh:

My advice is obvious - moved to your 1st choice of living area & visit those that don't visit you when you feel like doing so ... not when they 'want' you to come :rolleyes:

By the way, i don't recommend Ballarat ... too darn cold here ... yeh kind of nice living here & a relaxing lifestyle here but too chilly :D

I use to body surf in the morns in Apollo Bay on holiday many years ago there ... just loved it :dance:

are you talking about the school woodleigh?

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... :cry:

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!!!!! :hug:

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.

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it is locally known as boganville

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ROFL i was trying to be diplomatic!

Great school Rainy! ;)

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.

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

why not look at Torquay?

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*

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

You girls are BAD! :rofl:

I really have my heart set on Apollo Bay - DH prefers it too. (hinterland probably - I need green space, chookies, cows, vege garden etc...

What about Lakes Entrance??? Is it green there? Is it pretty???

nah come out this way.....lots more BB people out this way and we have all that hinterland stuff too.......just not Hastings is all!! (or Frankston!!) LOL

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 :lol: they do get pretty extreme weather there though i think.
apollo bay is absolutely gorgeous :)

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.

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?

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.

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

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I'm sure we could work out some sort of BB custody agreement - you have Lu and I alternating weekends. :p

Port fairy is a gorgeous seaside town. Pretty quiet in the off season, busier in the summer. A few nice places to have coffee and eat, a great music fetival once a year and loads of surf. ;) Yeah about 3 hrs from melb. Another lovely spot is Port Campbell. I'd live in either of those towns. :D

lakes entrance is awesome!! we used to holiday there every summer, love the place!

Where is Port Cambell???

Had a look at Inverloch - noice... What is Wonthaggi like - following on from Raven's comments... :rolleyes: I like a bit of an alternate lifestyle so the moccy brigade just isn't me... :lol:

If you don't want the moccy brigade, don't move to Wonthaggi! (No offense to anyone who has or does live there!)

DH's aunty is a school teacher at the primary school there and she has some VERY scary stories to tell *shudder*.

Port Fairy is lovely, my step-sister lives in Warrnambool and loves it there.

Lakes Entrance was lovely, but very very busy- in fact, i would describe it as packed! i know it's peak season atm, but i just felt like there was way too many people there. i get the feeling you're looking for a more sleepy coastal type village, so unless you're heavily into boating, i'm not sure that it's what you're looking for. i would be more likely to head to something along the great ocean road- more rugged and sleepy.

Thanks Rainy - when I googled PortFairy I felt like I had come home! But it's about 5 hours to the inlaws. Maybe that's a good thing hey? They live up at the border near Shepparton - would that be right 5 hrs to there?

I like the green and the old houses. I even found the dream house. DH has long service mid year and that's when the whole kabang could happen...

Port Campbell is half way between Port Fairy and Apollo Bay. ;)

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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?

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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 :p ;) If you do head on down this way for a look feel free to PM me if you want to catch up.