The other one here is arsenic which is high in some areas due to the gold mining. I found some maps from the GardenSafe program where you can send in your soil samples for free testing and was able to identify that the areas of the inner east in Ballarat are the ones to watch out for - which coincides with the soil types I was looking at on another map. I’m likely avoiding that area because of that, as well as it being a bit more hilly - but it does have some beautiful leafy areas filled with historic homes that would make it a bit nice to live in too.

There are definitely some cheaper shops - multiple op shops, NQR etc feature prominently which is definitiely the sorts of shops I appreciate. The biggest crimes around here seem to be theft from/of cars that are parked outside, but that is happening everywhere.