Making the winning move

Dr Kate Kerkin, a social scientist, has no regrets about moving to Geelong, although she does concede that initially she took some persuading to leave Melbourne. Any fears of a stalled career have evaporated, as have any doubts the change would mean making compromises. “What compromises?” she asks. “I work in urban and social planning and have found the opportunities in Geelong to be incredible.

“If you make the move to a regional location, you take new skills with you and employers are really interested in working with you because you have something more to offer. I am financially better off now that I am here than when I was working in Melbourne.”

Dr Kerkin moved to Highton in Geelong with her husband David Essex and two children four-andhalf years ago. She had a citycentric attitude before Mr Essex persuaded her to take a closer look at the Geelong region.

“It took him three years of convincing before I took a look at the opportunities in Geelong,” she says. “David works for Deakin University in management and there are many opportunities for him but for me and people in my field, the opportunities are extraordinary.

“Geelong is seeing incredible population growth so, as a result, there is a lot of work available in the building of new infrastructure and planning. You just have to take a look at the new Armstrong Creek development, which will house about 60,000 people over the next 15 to 20 years, to see where Geelong is heading.

“The opportunities are endless. And you also get to walk down tree-lined streets with cockatoos singing, travel to work in 10 or 15 minutes, enjoy bigger blocks and beautiful beaches. You buy a lifestyle when you buy in Geelong.”

David Turner, a carpenter who grew up in Geelong but now lives in Ocean Grove, had been spending hours each day travelling to and from work until he realised there were many opportunities closer to home. “I was living in Geelong but working most of the time around Point Cook and Werribee,” he says. “I developed more and more contacts closer to Geelong and the coast, around St Leonards and Torquay, and have gradually moved most of my work to that area.

“The furthest I would have to travel now for work would be Anglesea. I have found there is plenty of work around here.”

As a sole trader, Mr Turner is capitalising on the strong urban growth. “I have mainly worked for smaller builders,” he says. “But now I’m getting a lot of work through (new housing builders) Metricon, who are pretty big down here.

“There are more and more towns that have new estates, around Ocean Grove, Torquay and Point Lonsdale, and there’s heaps in Geelong. I think the Armstrong Creek estate out at Mount Duneed, just before Torquay, will bring lots of jobs to the area too. There are plans for about 1000 houses with their own schools, shops and transport, all due to start Median house prices for the Geelong region are Colac Otway $217,500, Golden Plains $211,250, Greater Geelong $264,000, Queenscliffe $510,000 and Surf Coast $392,500. (Source: LANDATA on behalf of the Department of Sustainability & Environment, 2006) live: construction in the next 12 months to two years.

“You hear about things slowing down [in the building game] but I think that must just be in Melbourne because to me things definitely haven’t slowed down around here.”

But are there compromises to be made for those seeking senior management and executive opportunities? It depends what you consider a compromise to be, says David Spear, the manager of executive projects for Golden Plains Shire Council. Mr Spear grew up in the Geelong region, then moved to Melbourne to attend university and stayed on in the city to work. Five years ago, he returned to Geelong West with his family.

“It’s a simple value proposition,” he says. “There are some really good senior management and well-paid jobs in Geelong. Maybe some of them don’t pay quite as well as in the city, but there are definitely other benefits that make up for that. You just have to look at the greater living expenses in Melbourne, and the travel and the time costs associated with city-based living.

“For me in Melbourne, I would have to travel two-and-a-half to three hours to get to and from work each day. Back here, it takes me 20 minutes to get to work from home and I only have to go through one set of traffic lights. You just look at what you can do with that extra time you’ve earned each day. It’s not all about wages.”

Mr Spear’s wife, an occupational therapist, had no trouble finding work either, securing part-time employment in the health industry and, at the same time, a good balance between family and work life.

“I believe health is the largest employment sector in Geelong so there are many opportunities available for those professionals, with very little compromise,” Mr Spear says. “There are lots of opportunities for child care, great schools for children, housing affordability is an obvious benefit, and there are a number of little cosmopolitan shopping strips outside of the main areas, lots of hidden secrets.

“Geelong region living is by no means a compromise.”