nadders

We've been researching different areas to live in Oz. We will have 3 weeks to decide when we go for a holiday in April and hope to validate our visa at the same time.Oh my God we've never even been there!We've looked at various suburbs and really, although there are lots of nice looking areas we would like to escape from suburbia. We like the idea of a small city/big town. Coffs Harbour looks excellent. Any feed back on the place or similar areas on the south coast.

diddy

We stopped in Coffs a few times recently. It's a really nice place, good beaches, shopping centres and has most facilities you'll need. However, the reason you're getting so few responses is coz very few expats settle there coz it's so far from anything. Grafton is about an hour away and Ballina about 2 and half hrs. So you can handle feeling a bit isolated, it would be great place to live.

Paul.

Stitch

We stayed for one night we we visitied. Didn't care much for the place except the fab beaches. Suppose we didn't feel that there was much going on....although people living there might disagree, only our opinion min you...

Cheers

chaval

We went there last year and hopefully moving out there in due course. Yep its a fairly smallish place, but I think has everything you might need. Because of its size and location im not sure what the local economical situation is like or what sort of jobs are about.

think property prices have gone up a hell of a lot over the last few years, but there are still bargains to be had.

But yeah there are some cracking beaches around those parts...emerald beach, corindi beach etc. Although having said that when we drove up to byron bay..every place we stopped on the way was brill which doesnt help much

Cheers

C

TopCat3

Hi. I spent about 14 months in the Coffs area in 1998/99. At that time it had the highest unemployment rate in NSW. It's very pretty, but I soon tired of it with so little to do and no real work. And they prefer to give jobs to the "locals" in country areas. You spend a lot on petrol going between towns. Not much night life and at that time was a high drug area. People very different from city folk. I was used to the bright lights and cultural attractions of Sydney and after I'd cooled my heels for a few months (I just needed a physical and mental break) I came back to Sydney. If you have a job to go to there, and you are taking kids so you get to meet other families and make friends that way, it might suit you. But if you're a young couple looking for outside interests and things to do/places to go, it might not suit. It's easy to be seduced by the beaches and open spaces (I was) but it's a whole different reality living in country Australia vs. a city. Quite different from the city/country differences in England. It depends very much on the type of person one is and what one is looking for, but that's my two bob's worth, for what it's worth. Hope it helped

Rooksie

do a search for user "The Rossers" because they are going there. i have a great friend who lives there - he is an Aussie and he has lived in a lot of places in Aus and he says Coffs is THE BEST!

nadders

Thanks for the excellent response. It seems that Coffs Harbour could be somewhere to settle if we don't mind living the beach life without the excitement of the city. Would we be Ok with that? Maybe, but perhaps we should look somewhere nearer a city and move to somewhere like Coffs when we get old and slow.
From what others have said on this thread it certainly seems a good place to stop at on our travels. We will certainly circle it on our route map.

nadders

Thanks for the tip Rooksie I'll look 'em up.

Welshie

Mmmm..can't say it would be my choice. Been there a few times over the years and have some Australian friends who live there. Its got great beaches etc, shopping not great if you're into 'real' retail therapy and i didn't get the feel they had entered the 21st Century yet!

There are definitely some better places on the East Coast. I though Ballina was fabulous, although I did note there were quite a few oldies there (not that I'm ageist of course) but I am referring to over 65's. I preferred it to Coffs. I've been to Australia travelling previously and I would really recommend that you do a bit of travelling along the East Coast before you really decide where to settle. Australia is truly a fabulous place....you'll love it wherever you settle I'm sure.

Good luck

Welshie

And another thing...it has a giant kitsch banana on the main road as ya drive in....!!...thats not good!!

and.........Ballina has a giant prawn....or is that Lismore.?..

Try Wollongong 80kms from Sydney...fabulous place!
Newcastle is good.....more of a city feel...

Ok....I'm on a roll...better go before I start thinking of other giant plastic relics!