rabble_rouser

I know but I like driving. Its a beautiful country - much to see.

Beoz

Enjoy. From a tourist perpective, that road would be so much better if it hugged the coast

ozzieeagle

Around that area just north of Sydney is one I'll be checking out as retirement potential (if it ever comes that is *sigh*) Thing is when you ask Aussies about the area, particularly Sydneysiders and Newcastle ex's, they slag the place off something rotten. (You dont hear that with Adelaide and Perth) Which is contrary to a lot of Melburnians when they go there who tend to be far more polarised in their opinion of the place. I've an idea that listening to the complaints that it's quite a bogan culture.... Whether this is true or not I would have to test out for myself. I think that maybe the focal point as to whether the place is good enough to live though.

One things for sure, it must be by all accounts far more bogan orientated than Sydney or Melbourne overall. Which is a shame for such an obviously picturesque area.

Beoz

What are you talking about Ozzie? Not a lot of sense made there.

ozzieeagle

When I've mentioned Newcastle as a possible future retirement destination to work colleagues and people I know that have lived there previously, the warnings are...... That it's supposedly got far more bogan culture than the state capitals, enough to be highly notable and possibly enough to make it not a good place to live.

I'll be going there to check this aspect out for myself.

It could be a place that Sydney shifts it's housing end of the line problem tenants too.... A lot Like Shepparton or Bacchus Marsh in Victoria.

Beoz

You can't commute from Newcastle to Sydney and keep your sanity. You should be able to but the NSW govt is focussing its efforts on Sydney and forgetting that investment in medium speed rail (straightening some of the line and allowing the trains to travel 140km/h) would make it commutable.

Sure there are bogans in some areas. There are everywhere.

Port Stephens is more the retirement place. If you take a walk around the shopping centre there out of the holiday period its mainly retirees and local families, but there's a small bogan element.

bourbon-biscuit

Even providing a few sidings for the majority of trains to head into to allow a 4x daily fast service doing central- Gosford - Broadmeadow and maybe one or two other stops would be super.

But at least the train is cheap and no pissing around trying to get the best fare on the dates you want like in the UK: just a flat fare, no fuss. My daughter comes up from Canberra and the Sydney to Broadmeadow leg costs less than $5. On Sunday the trip is $2.50 for anyone. I do like that