Stawell - Victoria

[australian]

Hi, please could someone give me some advice!!

My best friends husband has been offerred a job in Australia. It has come as quite a surprise to them, as they were not even looking (most of their family are in the UK)

Its a managerial position in the textile industry, in an area called Stawell, app 200kms from Melbourne. The salary is $65 00 pa, and they have offered to cover re-location costs.

Does anyone know this area, what is it like, and what are the schools like here.

Any ideas on what Visa they will be applying (Temp or perm)

Is the salary worth the move??

Am I correct in saying its around 12 hours drive from Sydney?

Thanks, any information would be appreciated, as they have to make a decision soon

Robyn

[Mara]

All I can tell you is that it is country Victoria....like country towns in SA things would happen slower and the pace of life would be easier. People would probably be friendlier and easier to get to know than in a big city. Where the real bonus lies is with property rentals and property prices, these would be half of what they are in Melbourne. You do not say how many are in the family, so it is difficult to comment on the salary. It is also not really possible for me to comment on whether or not it is enough, as each person's "enough" could be different from another. I would venture to say though, that there are many in this country that live on a salary like that and let's be honest, it only needs to be a stepping stone to better and greater things. Also the quality of life here is so considerably different from SA that it is a bonus to live here, even if you have to turn your cents over before you spend them.

I cannot comment about schools, but being a country town I will again venture a guess that the discipline would probably bet a lot better than in the city.

Your estimate for travel time from Sydney would probably be about right.

[australian]

Thanks Mara

They are a family of 3. I am guessing that by the look of this town there would probably not be too many options, workwise, for his wife?

How viable do you think it would be for him to travel from Melbourne everyday?? Are there trains.

and sorry one more question, what is the weather like there, does it get really cold in winter.

We have done so much research on Sydney, but never looked at any of the other states!! From what I have seen now on the internet, Melbourne looks beautiful!!

[Mara]

Hi Australian

No, he could not live in Melbourne and travel to Stawell daily by train, it would take him from a minimum of 4 hours one way and up to three stages to the trip and two waiting times.

The nearest bigger town is Ballarat, but it is still 140kms away and will take you approximately an hour and 50 minutes to drive at the speed limits.

Melbourne to Stawell is 236 kms and the drive time is shown as three hours, so that is definitely out of the question.

With regard to job opportunities for the wife, I would presume it would depend really on what the wife does for a living, you may be surprised, but yes, I don't think jobs would be the easy to come by.

With regard to the weather...go to the following link, you will find it all there.

http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/94836.html

I have nothing against Sydney, I just prefer Melbourne. We have lived here for 10 years now and would not be anywhere else.