Good luck🤞
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You get a feeling for a place. So good start. 
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Arrived in Melbourne without issue.
I have been here for 3 nights now. Everything is going swimmingly. [image]
My host is very easy to get along with and there have been no negative issues thus far.
Early days yes, we both agree that there is no reason that my move here should not go ahead.
Odds are that I will be moving to Melbourne permanently by late May.
I have not ventured too far to date as I do not have my vehicle here.
The surprising thing for me is that AFL Park Waverley (formerly VFL Park) is within walking distance.
I went for a walk and snapped some photos.
VFL Park was the only original football ground I never got to attend a game.
The ground was open for business in 1970 and the first-ever VFL was played on April 18th when Geelong played Fitzroy. The first player to score a goal was St Kilda player, Doug Wade in front of 25,000 spectators
Geelong won by 61 points.
The venue was still under construction at the time, with only one stand partially completed.
The ground hosted it’s final AFL game on the 29th of August 1999 between Hawthorn and Sydney by 85 points in front of a sell-out crowd of 72,130.
The ground is still used today, hosting the South Metro Junior Football League. It is the home ground of the Waverley Park Hawks Junior Football Club.
VFL Park Waverley in the 70s.
Waverley Park 2026
My photos yesterday
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I will be moving to Melbourne permanently
My recce to Melbourne was very successful.
My host and I got along very well. No negative issues were forthcoming, and it seems that we are well suited to living under the same roof.
Large two storey, 4-bedroom home. The upper floor will be mine. My bedroom has an ensuite, a large office/entertainment area at the top of the landing. (this is where I will have my music playing)
We will share the kitchen, cooking for each other.
Outdoors there is a two-car garage and plenty of room for me to potter around in the garden.
A large shopping centre is 300 metres away; a public transport hub is at the shopping centre.
Melbourne CBD is 25km away, St Kilda Beach, 20km, Dandenong Ranges National Park, 17km, Mornington Peninsular, 45km, Phillip Island, 100+km.
I am excited for this move for two reasons mostly, a new beginning, I stagnated in Perth, being there for 38 years, and to get away from the relentless, oppressive summertime heat.
It is easier to keep warm than it is to cool down.
The move will happen late May, early June.
Driving across Australia via Albany, Esperance, along the Nullarbor Plain, Port Lincoln, Victor Harbour and onwards to Melbourne.
The trip will take at least 10 days as we will be staying overnight at the places mentioned and a couple of places between Norseman and Ceduna.
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If there is two of you driving you could do it with one stop
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David has never driven across Australia, and he wants to experience the coastline, standing on the edge of Australia at the Great Australian Bight, looking out to the Southern Ocean.
So we are taking our time, visiting those coastal towns along the way.
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Is the daughter ok about this now?
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Penong to Eucla is only a 4 hour drive as is Eucla to Balladona but there are lots of side roads to the cliffs as well as the Caiguna Blowhole.
If you’re a bird watcher there are hides too.
Have fun.
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Yes, I met his daughter, and we got along very well. No in-depth interrogation required.
I won her over almost instantly. It did help that when she arrived I was out front trimming a large tree. She could see that I was going to be a great help to her father.
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After 5 months of planning, a 3-week recce visit, I have arrived at my new home in Melbourne.
I am nicely ensconced here in the suburbs of SE Melbourne. Two storey home of which the top storey is all mine.
Private ensuite, large bedroom, extra bathroom, large study. Ample heating, which is required because right now the temperature is 12 degrees at 11am and there is a strong NW wind blowing, dropping the temperature at least 5 degrees.
My adventure across Australia began on 19th June and was completed on June 30th at 5.30 pm.
The total trip via my car was 4365km long, taking in Albany - 2 nights, Esperance, - 2 nights, Balladonia - 1 night, Border Village Roadhouse, - 1 night, Ceduna - 1 night, Port Lincoln - 2 nights, Victor Harbor - 2 nights.
The drive was without any negative incidents. Really, it was the perfect drive. Little traffic, being winter, no driving into the morning sun as the sun was always to the left of the vehicle, except the final day when driving from Victor Harbor to Melbourne, heading north, driving into the morning sun for almost 2 hours.
Never drove more than 100kmh, that way, the only vehicles to pass us were cars, small SUVs. No road trains, no caravans, which made for a really easy drive. The only road train we overtook was a sheep transporter. Being behind one of those, what with its odorous smell is a little off-putting so I overtook that one.
The following pictures are from the net, except Albany and the Bunda Cliffs which is the southern edge of Australia. The cliffs of the Great Australian Bight drop 100 metres into the Southern Ocean and really need to be seen in person as pictures fail to encapsulate the awe which overcomes one, standing on the edge of the Great Southern Land.
Albany
Esperance
Bunda Cliffs
Port Lincoln
Victor Harbor
I have plenty of my own photos which I will post in the coming weeks.
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Welcome to a chilly Victoria ,Brett 
(and you are welcome to it…only joking 
)
Thank you, Mr Smith, rather chilly today, but okay indoors.
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Welcome back to Chat.
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Bret, if someone had asked you half a decade ago “where do you see yourself in fifty years time” you probably would not have answered Melbourne 
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Thank you, good to be back.
@spitfire I have been saying for a decade or more, “I reckon I will retire in Melbourne”
Here I am, nicely ensconced in wet and dreary Melbourne.
There is a lot to be said for wet and dreary 
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Nice to have you back @Bretrick , I missed all your post , it will be nice to see your photos , and hear about your new abode …
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I suspect it won’t be cold and dreary for long Bretrick.
Great to see you back and brightening up the forum…
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Thank you Grey One, good to be back.
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