Family of six looking for a place to call home in Koroit

Lindy Vandermeer and Paul Laws have been living in the town for more than two years after travelling around Australia in a caravan for about three years.

Ms Vandermeer said the couple had been living in Esperance in Western Australia with their four children.

Mr Laws, who was running a roofing business, became unwell.

"We bought a $1000 caravan, packed up our five-bedroom house, rented it out and took off," she said.

For the next three years the family lived in a caravan, calling places like Exmouth, Tweed Heads, Mullimbimby and Ballarat their home for short periods of time.

Ms Vandermeer said the family enjoyed living in Mullimbimby because it was a small town.

However, when the price of properties skyrocketed, the family decided to move on.

The couple had a chat about where they would like to live as they promised their children they would stay in one place for 10 years to allow them to finish their schooling.

"I didn't want to live in the tropics - I got bitten by a tick and got sick while in the tropics and I don't like the heat that much," she said.

Ms Vandermeer said her family members lived in Victoria and she wanted to be close by. It was picturesque Tower Hill and the proximity to the coast that saw the family move to Port Fairy, where they lived in a caravan park for six months.

One cold night, Mr Laws suggested the couple take a look at Koroit as a possible new home.

"What made us choose Koroit is we walked in to Mickey Bourke's because we had heard they have a beautiful fire," she said.

Ms Vandermeer is used to turning heads due to her penchant for wearing bright, colourful clothes.

"Most pubs we walk into, it's like a western movie. The doors open, we walk in and everyone goes silent. But at Mickey Bourke's they were like 'come in, where are you from?'"

She works with people affected by mental illness and Mr Laws works in maintenance.

Their older children Topsea, 14, and Tex, 13, attend Brauer College, while Boston, 10, and Scout, 6, attend Koroit and District Primary School.

The family loves Koroit and wants to remain in the town but is finding it difficult to secure a new rental.

Ms Vandermeer said the family would love to live in a farm house with some land for their children and cats.

"We don't mind if the house is a bit run-down. We're both happy to get our hands dirty and help fix it up."

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