Tam74

I am looking to move my family from the UK to the Northern Territory under regional migration visa.
Any tips for us ? We will be looking to do a recce trip there in May this year (whilst we have travelled to Australia on numerous occasions before have never been to Darwin).


Thanks

carcajou

I hear that Darwin is underrated, from people I know who have been there recently. I am planning a trip myself in spring.

There are crocs, but locals have water holes that are croc-free and good for swimming. Find out where those are and have a look.

jad n rich

Tips. Well from friends who have lived there I would say do not underestimate the heat and humidity, and make sure you enjoy mid 30's pretty much all year round.

Only known Aussies who have lived there but none lasted more than 2 years.

There was a lady on BE who did live in NT and posted regularly, perhaps someone can fill you in on her posts.

GarryP

The issue is that that is probably the best time of year, and will not give you a good view of what the place is like in Oct-Nov.

Pollyana

Geordie Mandy. She posted a lot while she lived up there, well worth reading her posts.

Tam74

Thanks for this guys - we are originally South African (husband and I) so are used to heat etc but we have 3 very English children !
We are looking for a slower pace of life completely.


Trying to see if anyone out there has any experiences of living there, especially with a family.

Pollyana

Have a read through Geordie Mandy's posts, she was there with a young family for a few years.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/membe...e-mandy-49745/

carcajou

Not sure what you mean by "slower pace of life," but if small town is what you are after - no need to go to Darwin. Most regional towns off the coast will suffice for that. Consider places like Toowoomba, Mildura, Orange etc.

Darwin is, however, quite isolated. If you chose it because you wanted "small town on the coast" - remember that most beaches will be out-of-bounds due to crocodiles there.

Australians have a saying called "going troppo" which means losing your mind from the heat. "Troppo" - up north (ie, Darwin).

It will be, however, unique. Nothing like it in Europe.

rammygirl

Not so much the heat but the humidity that gets people. I cope fine with dry 40 degree heat here in SA but back in the UK last year hated the sticky 30 degree days we had. And that wasn't just due to having no aircon as we were out and about in the countryside.

From what I gather the scenery is stunning but there are many underlying problems.

skinnygeorge

I do like Darwin. Remember its very small compared to the other capitals. If you have sympathy for the indigenous community, that may waver a little after a short period of time. Winter up there can be very comfortable. Summer though, I`ve just got back from a weeks work there,and just an hour outside saw my clothes soaked with sweat on Friday. Eyebrows barely coping with it pouring in to my eyes. I do not mind heat and often worked in 35-40+oC. But the humidity was driving me mad for sure. I wouldn't mind living there for some time to see if I could do it. But to comfortable where I am now. I hope it works out, As has been said, there is a lot of stunning countryside to see.

Kim67

Croc free until someone gets taken. I wouldn't take the risk.

Tam74

Still fancy it - now we just wait for vetassess !

Jilliebee

Good luck. We spent 4 fab years in Darwin before we had to move due to hubby's job. Do you know whereabouts you are thinking of living - the NT is vast and some places are extremely remote.

We came over with a 6 year old. Yes, the heat does take some getting used to. I initially hated the constant sheen of sweat on my skin - we came over in the January so was the middle of the 'wet season'. However, once the dry season hit, it was beautiful. You do start to acclimatize. Hubby was better at that than me as I was in air con all day and he was outside a lot. There are plenty things to do with kids, especially if you like camping/fishing etc. There are lots of parks, walks, cycle tracks as well as free water play areas. In saying that, our daughter was happy to leave. The heat did get to her. She has sensory issues and hated having to wear sun cream all the time, not being able to play out without having adequate shade/clothes on etc or it being too hot to be outside for any length of time. I do recommend getting a house with a pool or investing in a lockable spa. We still own a house in Darwin, although doubt we'll go back up there due to our daughter loving Melbourne so much. On a side note, our house is up for rent if anyone knows of anyone needing somewhere to live (has a separate granny flat and a pool too )

Going slightly further that Darwin (but accessible as a day trip or overnighter) there are some excellent places to visit. Berry Springs, Territory Wildlife Park, Kakadu, Litchfield, Batchelor, Katherine, Mataranka etc. and a lot of those have 'safe' places to swim - mainly in the dry season. Tourism NT is a great website to seeing what there is to do and see in the area.

The comment above regarding the indigenous population in Darwin in warranted. It can be hard at times to stay sympathetic to their issues after living there.

Tam74

Hi Gillian - thanks so much for your lovely newsy info. We want to be near to Darwin itself so will look at the various suburbs around it. Whereabouts did you live ?
Our family including 12 year old twins are very excited and we just want it to hurry up and happen - patience not our strong point.
What a shame we aren't ready to move over yet or could happily take up offer of house rental !

Jilliebee

We lived in the suburb of Driver in Palmerston. It's an older suburb with bigger blocks however there are some excellent newer suburbs in both Palmerston and Darwin. If you check out realestate.com.au you can see the differences. Wherever you live it is probably a maximum of 25 minutes by car to get anywhere as it's not a big place. Public transport is not so good. Sports are very popular here too. My friends boys were into Rugby and hockey and my daughter did soccer and netball. There are junior AFL teams too although it's not as popular up north as it is down south.

It's definitely a marmite kind of place, but we went there with open minds and enjoyed it - and we hate camping and fishing lol x