Carin

My husband and I recently bought a 2-bedroom apartment in East Geelong as an investment property. We love the fact that East Geelong seems like a quiet neighbourhood with wide, tree-lined streets. Richmond Reserve and South Geelong train station are just around the corner, while Geelong Racecourse/Showgrounds, East Geelong Golf Club, Skilled Stadium, Botanic Gardens, the popular Eastern Beach, a handful of local primary schools, Geelong Hospital, and Geelong CBD are all less than 5 minutes away.

It's definitely fantastic inner-city living and great value for money.

My husband and I bought our house in ANA Estate in December 2006 for $265,000, which was a good bargain at the time. We live near the border of Oak Park and Glenroy. We love the fact that we can see the city skyline from our front verandah, so we get to enjoy watching the fireworks display. We also like walking around the quiet neighbourhood or along the Moonee Ponds bike trail/creek nearby, especially during summertime. We're fortunate to have nice and friendly neighbours, whom we usually exchange hello's and good morning's with.

While there's a bus stop one street back from ours, my husband goes for a 3-minute drive to the Oak Park train station, leaves the car there, and takes an easy 25-minute train ride to the city for work. I drive to work and love the convenience of Citylink, with the entrance to the freeway only 5 minutes from our home. We're also spoilt for choice with travel to the beautiful northern and western parts of Victoria via the Hume, Calder and Western Ring Road highways. Travelling interstate and international is a breeze and never a hassle for us as Tullamarine Airport is only less than 15 minutes away.

We love going to the local Kebab House for a quick bite or Huyen Linh Vietnamese restaurant for a decent, good-priced dinner. We sometimes head to Dairy Queen for weekend brunch -- only $10 for a big breakfast with coffee, which I believe is good value for money. Marhis Cafe, Groceries and Takeaway along Menana Road -- in front of Penola Catholic College Junior campus and only 3 blocks from our home -- serves lovely Filipino meals. The shop sells cheese ice cream that's just to die for. There's also a green grocer nearby, Pascoe Vale Road Market, which is open everyday. For nightlife, it's just a short drive to the restaurants and pubs in either Moonee Ponds, Brunswick East or Carlton.

We're happy here and never moving elsewhere. ;)