lamu_life

Hi Dawn,

My husband and me have been here for 2 weeks, we are from the UK. There are tonnes of Public schools around here, then there are the private schools, St.Columba, Heritage Christian School and 4 catholic schools. I am a teacher from the UK but having to wait at least 4 weeks until I can get my creditation. If you want to meet up at all when you get to Port, let me know,
Clare

lamu_life

hi there,

My husband and me have just moved to port from uk and we love it here. My hubby has got a job here, he is a carpenter but I've got a little wait to sort my teacher accreditation out. What do you do? How long have you been in port?

Clare

aussiedude

You will love Port we have just moved from there as my husband is working on the Central Coast.

If you have dogs I can let you know of some good beaches, vets and boarding kennels etc.

Also recomend trying out a BBQ Boat you can hire them at the Boathouse at the Settlement Point Ferry. We went on one for our friends 50th a few weeks ago when we were up there everyone took their own booze and food and used the BBQ's on board we sll had a fantastic afternoon and there is also a toilet on board as well.

I miss Port but needs must.

We wish you well... Good luck,

Adele, Adam and Team xx

aussiedude

PS. Let us know if you find a good Indian restaurant though as we havn't found any good ones in Port yet nothing as good as the UK, we did find a very good one down at Tumbi Umbi on the Central Coast called the "The Jolly Good Indian" though definately going back to this one for seconds..

ozzieeagle

Got to say, I reckon the bloke that runs the Go Kart track out on the Highway is a classic example of the Ultimate Aussie Redneck.

I couldn't believe my first night in Central PM, the place dies after 8.30 pm... they were putting chairs up on the tables in the restaurants whilst we ate.

Other than that a nice sleepy little town, may even visit it again... Bloody expensive eating out there though.

I've crossed it of my list of retirement possibilities for being too quiet and not enough choice for me personally.

Will say it's a very friendly place, and as pretty as most of the other towns up and down the coast. For a newcomer from the UK it would seem heavenly.

Disclaimer, this critique was written by a dedicated Urban lover.

Best of luck there, it will suit heaps of people.

noofie

Just to let you all know Dawn arrived in Port over the weekend to start her new life. I believe she starts work at the Base hospital on Tuesday. Look out for her for me she is a great friend.

Jackie
x

aussiedude

Good luck with your new jobs.

As I have said before we lived in Port for 6 months but we found it difficult with the job prospects which is why we moved to the Central Coast where my other half now works and there is definately much more life around here.

If you get stuck please feel free to email me and I will try to help. Don't ever feel like you are on your own we have all been there and we would be happy to help if we can..

Take care and best wishes.

Adele, Adam and Team

lamu_life

Thanks Adele and Adam,

My sister in law in Hornsby wanted us to move to Central coast but it was just too expensive and we find the beaches more beautiful up here. I'm praying once I've gt my teaching accreditation I should be ok hopefully but we'll see how it goes. Thanks though, we do love it, it is a beautiful place.
Love Clare

mi5agent

PM is quiet...... but its nice and quiet.

We have "weekended " there twice. As we are near wrinklies...its right for us coz we do not look for bars and clubs.
The beach is OK and there is a decent shopping mall with Woolworths and right next to it is the booze shop!

We were thinking of settling there...buts its about 5-6 hours drive to Sydney where our daughter lives.

Depends what you want.

If you want to see any photos of the place PM me an email addy and I will sort you some.

harrip

I've been to PM several times, each time for no longer than 2 nights - and for me that was long enough as it does come across as a retirement village on the coast. Its nice enough, but not too exciting.

Age Statistics

2444 NSW
60+ 29% 17%
40 to 59 26% 26%
5 to 19 20% 21%
20 to 39 19% 29%
0 to 4 5% 7%

jellibaby

If anyone wants to meet up anytime then please get in touch.

We have lived here since Nov 07. The winter time has been quiet at night with the eating places all still open through the week but due to a lack of custom (this a holiday town after all) they shut down by 8:30pm. In season - such as school holidays its a different story. As with all holiday towns the prices vary. We found sSs BBQ Barns to be one of the most expensive along with Hogs Breath Cafe and Sails Resort. The Maharajah is an OK Indian but not like the UK - they don't seem to have the same sauces! There are two Thai's in town both pretty good. Fish and Chips - hmmm - OK at Mike's Seafood then there is Scampi's which is also expensive but good. Once you get into the Aussie swing though there are LOTS of other places to eat out including Taking Point Tavern, Port City Bowling Club (all you can eat for $20) - Westport Club is OK as is Panthers but nothing to write home about. Town Green Inn is good for food as is the Beach House. Pubs, well this is NOT the UK and there are no UK style pubs. The is Fernhill Tavern, Tacking Point Tavern, Settlers Inn and they serve booze but have a typical Aussie sports / factory feel. Then there is Town Green Inn, Beach Hut and Macquarie Hotel although the latter is definately the place for guys. Then there is Finnians Irish Bar which is OK for a night out but its loud. There is one nightclub in town - Down Under - have never been in it so can't comment. I am NOT into real night life so I'm not missing anything. If you ARE in to pubs and clubs Port Mac is NOT the place for you.

Someone else commented about surfing. Port has to be one of the TOP destinations for surfing. I've just had my first five lessons and bought my own board. I love it. There is Town Beach, Flynns Beach, Nobby's Beach and Lighthouse Beach for a start off then there is North Haven too a bit further south. The surfing gets top billing in the surf mags and over the last few months we've had the Australiasian Human Bodyboard champs, the Australian Longboard Champs, the Honey, Ocean Earth Women's event and that's just recent stuff.

The demographics for the town does indicate that the average age is over 45 but unless you hang out at the Bowling Clubs you're not going to have run-ins with seniors! In fact, we have not really noticed that the town ia aged!

Port is a BEAUTIFUL place to live. There have been whales off the coast since June and they're still coming down the coast after their migration with the whale watching boat Discovery out 4-5 times a day. There are dolphins in the river and the river mouth every other day. We have a Koala Park AND the Koala hospital. The place is stacked with gallahs, parrots, kookies, pelicans and OSPREYS.

We have go-karting, ten pin bowling, mini golf, horse riding, camel riding, golf courses, a flying club, a skydiving club, a very well known learn to surf school, beaches that go for MILES and MILES and the sun all year round with a good temperate climate.

For work - NOT SO GOOD. If you are in teaching or health NO PROBLEMS. If you are skilled and have a trade - hairdressing, carpentry, building, roofing, tiler, electrician - NO PROBLEM if you are into IT forget it - if you are highly academic (me) forget it - it's dead men's shoes and then you'll have to shoot someone to get their shoes. My OH is a retired PC so we have an income already on which we are ticking over. I did get a job for 4 months as the manager of Starbucks (given that my last job was Head of eLearning for a UK University - this was a MAJOR change of direction but I talked my way into the job)! YES - Starbucks then closed 61 of its 84 Aussis stores Port being one of them. I have had 4 interviews apart from that and have not landed a job yet. I am still applying but am in the process of setting up my own business to see if I can get an income that way.

On the other side of the coin we don't seem to be spending anywhere near what we used to waste in the UK. Yes my OH is having flying lessons but they average $200 for 2 hours - nowhere near what it would cost in the UK. My surf lessons were $170 for first 5 lessons and $10 for everyone after that plus the ocean is free and I got a brand new board in a closing down sale for $300 ($250 less than retail).

Shopping - there are no Malls as such. In Aussie WESTFIELDS are big Mall complexes and the nearest is Newcastle way. Coffs does have more shopping but we're not big shoppers so a weekend away shopping is like a trip for us and we like it that way. Having said that we have 2 Coles and 3 Woolworths. There is PORT CENTRAL and SETTLEMENT CITY mini shopping malls. We've also got a RIVERS!!!! yeah! There are LOTs of little independant stores for everything from screen printing to local brewed beers. There is a Bunnings and a Sunlight - we have everyday car dealer there is plus Boat sales plus Motorbike sales (yamaha, triumph, honda, BMW, kawasaki, suzuki - sorry no Ducati they're in Coffs). There are all the usual fast food outlets - Maccers, Red Rooster, Hungry Jacks (Burger King), Pizza Hut, Domino's, Eagle Boys. There is Blockbuster or local video hire stores. Stacks of Newsagents - clothes shops including Millers (for us over 40s) there's Big W and Target. We got all our furniture etc from Harvey Norman, Oz Design and Forty Winks but there are ALL of the other players here too. There are 3 GOOD vineyards - Cassegrain, Bago and Innes Lake (with the little fish cafe which is awesome).

We also have the OXLEY HIGHWAY and Gingers Creek biker stop one of the most awesome bike roads in Aussie with 40kms of pure adrenalin twisties.

Medical stuff - there are 4 dentists that we've found all with places - there are two hospitals the Base and the Private. Plus cancer clinics, pathology, physio and more.

Building going on ~ Sovereign Hills is the new village / town going up just off the higway. Its going to have its own schools, food places, supermarkets and lots and lots of housing. It will have its own intranet and a lake and much more. We have watched it with anticipation and think it will be pretty good for people who don't want to be in town but don't want to be in Wauchope either.

Port is 5 hours from Brisbane and 4.5 hours from Sydney. The train stops in Wauchope and there is a comprehensive bus service from middle of Port. We have our own airport from which Qantas fly to Sydney, Brindabella fly to Newcastle and Brisbane and Virgin Blue also fly Sydney.

DOGS - we had NO problems renting with a dog (only one mind you). We used ELDERS and they asked us to get in Rozken pest control to treat in and out for fleas on vacation of property. There are THREE VET hospitals and other vets in town. Lots of Pet shops too and the best stocked is Port Pet Warehouse. BEWARE though - rentals disappear NOVEMBER / DECEMBER / JANUARY as owners take them off the long term rental market and rent out short term to holiday makers as it pays more rent.

Dog beaches - best is Nobby's and Lighthouse but there are others. We walk boys down at Breakwall off Town Beach. Just clean up after your pet it makes life easier for everyone else and its kinder to the environment. At dog walking beaches the council provide POO BAGS and POO BINS so there is no excuse.

If there is ANYTHING else anyone would like to know PLEASE PLEASE ask.

xx

Grayling

Is there still as much a buglary and car break in problem as there was a few years ago when I was last there?

G

jellibaby

In the Port Macquarie news yesterday ~ a break~in down by the airport (car stereo) and a wallet stolen through an open window up at Flynns Beach.

Bear in mind the Port News is like the community newspaper - so they struggle to find much to talk about so crime is BIG news. But that's the extent of the crime - a wallet stolen and a car break in! Which is a bit different to the crimes you "don't" hear about in the average village / town in the UK. It's not the same level of crime that say Byron Bay / Lismore has where there is a greater drug problem. Inland- Wauchope in the outlying areas the biggest crimes are people growing pot! Personally they struggle to find crime to report on. The police are notcieable - they are always in side streets with their handheld radar guns looking out for speeding. Apart from that there are blue and white unmarked cars who are also looking for the same "speeding cars". Oh and last week there was a shop break~in but that has been reported as an "inside-insurance-job!" X

Grayling

Port Macquarie also has drug problems.....the same as most Australian small towns.

When we last visited we were told (by our motel owner and others) that car break ins were pretty common and many properties, especially motels etc. were targetted by burglars.

Don't be fooled by sleepy town appearances.

Places like Byron bay are often descibed as idyllic by people on here whereas they have some significant problems with drugs, alcohol and youth violence.

G

jellibaby

It's no different from anywhere else in the world but your view of Port is skewed. I live here and crime is minimalist. People take the same precautions as they would anywhere else in Aussie or the UK - don't leave things in view in the car, don't advertise what you have in your house. Thieves are also tourists and often continue their habit to fund their own holiday - the obvious targets would be motels / hotels and shopping centre car parks. I stand by what I said - crime is minor - it's a bigger problem in cities but pale in comparison to the UK and the USA. But if you come to Aussie thinking there is no crime then you'll be disappointed.