Hi All - We are a family of four, two kids aged 9 and 7, currently living back in the UK but with previous experience of living in Perth (05) and Dunedin, NZ (06), we've also spent a year working in Brisbane (and in my case, Toowoomba) long ago in our pre-kid incarnation.
We're now back in the UK and have been for nearly 4 years, but my husband in particular is becoming sorely tempted by a move back Down Under. We have no experience of NSW but a job may be in the offing for my husband in Gosford. ANY views, comments, good or bad about Gosford and life in NSW in general would be much appreciated.
I am torn - it's been fantastic to be back amongst my army of friends and close to family once again. BUT the lifestyle in Oz beckons once again - we are very outdoorsy and the weather back here so often puts a damper (literally) on our plans!
Our other option probably lies in the small towns near Melbourne (Geelong, Frankston) - any comments on those very welcome too. We love the thought of living by the sea but within an easy train ride of a vibrant big city (very different from our UK, very rural, set-up)!
Any input much appreciated - thanks so much

Gosford itself is a dump, but loads of fantastic places around there, we live near Terrigal & love it

'Gosford is a dump' - you see, this is the sort of on-the-ground info i need. Funnily enough no-one has mentioned that fact to my husband so far!! I don't want to leave a beautiful part of the world here in the UK for a dump in NSW, even if the sun does shine much of the time! Will go and research places that are nearby but not Actually Gosford Itself now...

Oooh - Terrigal looks gorgeous, have google-imaged it. So, one could live there, or in a nearby coastal town(-let), and work in Gosford, yes?

Gosford is not a great place but central coast beaches are good, And houses are much cheaper than Sydney.

I can only confirm what has been said above. Gosford: Terrigal:

I moved to Terrigal about 3 years ago mainly to take advantage of the more affordable housing. You can get 3 bedrooms within walking distance to the beach rather than a shoe box in Sydney for the same money.

Gosford is handy if you need to take the trains to Sydney (1.5 hour journey). Living in Terrigal would add an 30 minutes to this. Some commute, not me though, but I would imagine that not to be so hot but great for the occasional visit - and at only about AUD$12 return - bargain!

really helpful - thanks. husband a medic - would be working at gosford and wyong hospitals, god knows where i would fine a job (GP) but hopefully locally, so sounds do-able from one of the coastal towns. Terrigal sounds absolutely lovely. thanks so much. the research continues!

When I said Gosford is a dump I meant the CBD is very run down & tatty but they keep revealing plans to regenerate the CBD & waterfront which would be great as it could be stunning & I transport large building equipment so I would get some work out of it
Gosford hospital is a 10 min walk from CBD across road from golf club & has just had a big extension, I spent a few nights there in 08 & found it a better experience than UK hospitals, Joho on this site works there you might be able to pm her for any indepth questions.
Lots of medical centres around for you inc a big one at Erina Fair which is a big shopping centre, also a large medical centre is being built at Warnervale which is 30 mins from Terrigal & 10 mins from Wyong hospital.
Don't know your house budget but Point Frederick is minutes from Gosford CBD & has beautiful waterfront properties, or you could have acreage in Matcham, Holgate, Ourimbah or beachside at Terrigal, Wamberal (where we live), Avoca, Forresters beach etc, etc
Good luck

brilliant. thanks so much. that's so helpful. back soon - husband has phone interview next week. the MAIN problem is that i am still not 100% on board. i am very attached to friends and family here, much as i love the aussie way of life and long to live by the sea! however the central coast sounds hugely appealing and i know the kids would be in heaven. argh...

I used to spend a bit of time up Gosford way as I followed the National Soccer competition, the Central Coast Mariners FC play out of Gosford.

Central Gosford has a bit of a run down edge to it, but I haven't been there for a few years so I cannot comment on how it is right now.

I think of Gosford as being a little like Wollongong to the South of Sydney. Both are just about at the limit of being commutable distance to the centre of Sydney, there is an express train every morning but I wouldn't want to do it.

I seem to recall Gosford has a sizeable social housing community and higher than average unemployment, think Northern England run down town feel but with sun.

But on the plus side there is some fantastic countryside up that way. If you like the country life and are looking for something in the bush but not too far out of Sydney and have a good budget you could get something very nice
indeed near the Hawkesbury River area, some millionaire homes around there !

So central Gosford itself not so good, but some great countryside.

Would I want to live near Gosford with my family? NO

hmm i take note the very definite 'NO' at the end of your post Jon!!
GOD. the only way to find out is to come over, isn't it - we're just debating when, but will probably plan a visit at Easter next year. one of my worries is that it's all a bit far from Sydney - we wouldn't be commuting there by any means, as the jobs are in Gosford/Wyong, but i would like to be within slightly closer reach of a vibrant urban centre. we live in a gorgeous part of rural England right now and that's the only thing lacking (well apart from the sunshine, OBV)...

I've just got back from taking the kids to Monster skatepark at Olympic park Homebush, took us 1 hr 10 mins, obviously this is weekend travelling but thats when you go for days out isn't it?
Gosford calls itself a city but is really a small town, I used to work in West Gosford & it took me 15 - 20 mins commute from Terrigal, lots of parks, play areas, skateparks & brilliant beaches, you don't have to live in Gosford to work there, my family love it.

Sim, that's no time at all - we live near in rural Herefordshire and travelling an hour or two is very common for us at weekends, or a bit more to go to the fab Pembrokeshire beaches we all love so much! You do make it all sound very appealing, I must say. I feel very positive. Just for interest, how often do you and others make it back to the UK - I guess this is very variable according to perceived need/finances, etc! I have the feeling I could only sign up to this if I was guaranteed an annual trip back, on my own if need be - but maybe that's not quite the right attitude

We've only been here 3 years & haven't felt the need to visit UK yet, the things we miss are friends, some family & the familiarity of our old life, my stepson has just returned from the summer in UK with his dad & couldn't wait to come back & doesn't want to visit again.
My brother & his family go back every year but my brother hates it & only goes for 2 weeks while his mrs & kids go for 6.
When we have Sydney days out we drive to Manly & catch the ferry as it makes it seem like a big day out.
We live 2 mins from an awesome beach where our son Max surfs with dolphins while we walk the dog, drink fantastic coffee & look for whales, our local beach in UK was an hour away at Blackpool so a pleasant change.

LOL at 'some' family - i know the feeling
when i read your description of max surfing with dolphins i think of my own little boy (who is 7, sporty, loves the sea, cricket, body boarding etc and i KNOW would love to try his hand at surfing) and i KNOW that we must look at this seriously!
I think we'd do the ferry-from-Manly thing too - that sounds divine. We have friends there at the moment and I well remember visiting Manly years ago when living in Brisbane. Fab.
We all love the sea, and that is the biggest draw for us. At the moment we compensate by keeping a caravan by the sea in Pembrokeshire and go there as often as possible - but it's 2 and a half hours each way! Living near the beach is our dream.
Thanks again - back soon with more questions, no doubt!
Hey - I was born in Morecambe and lived in Lancaster for a few years - where did you live?