Melbourne? I tried living there...

People often ask Brad Ivens why he doesn’t move to Melbourne. But the 33-year old senior tax manager at Ernst & Young wonders how people live in Melbourne. “I just couldn’t see myself living up there again,” he says.

Having grown up in Geelong and studied at Deakin University, Mr Ivens did try living in Melbourne when he first started work about 10 years ago. “I rented a flat in Carlton for a couple of years but I was going back to Geelong every weekend and quite often during the week as well. It seemed pointless to live in Melbourne.” So he and his wife bought a house in Geelong and haven’t looked back.

Mr Ivens commutes to Melbourne by train which, he admits, can be frustrating. But working in a fairly specialised field, he puts up with the travel for the sake of being able to enjoy the lifestyle – opportunities for golfing and surfing in particular. The Bellarine Peninsula boasts a number of five-star golf courses including Barwon Heads, Thirteenth Beach and The Sands at Torquay.

Mr Ivens is a member at Clifton Springs, where he plays every Saturday. “During the year we might also play at courses like Torquay, Anglesea or Queenscliff – there are plenty of good courses close by.”

Another passion is surfing, and living in Geelong means that Mr Ivens is only 20 minutes away from several of the best surf beaches in Australia.

From the southern coast of the Bellarine Peninsula some of the best surfing spots are Point Lonsdale, Ocean Grove and Thirteenth Beach near Barwon Heads – one of the closest surf beaches to Geelong and a year-round favourite with surfing diehards. The most famous is Bells Beach, where the Rip Curl Pro is held every Easter.

“I’ve been surfing since I was six. I mainly go to Winki Pop, next to Bells Beach, but also anywhere round Torquay, Barwon Heads or even Lorne, depending on the conditions. They are all easy to get to from Geelong.”

With a one-year-old daughter, Mr Ivens also thinks that Geelong is a good place to raise a family. “It has the benefits of being small enough that a lot of people know each other but big enough that it has everything.”